The 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup gets underway in February, and three Canadian teams will be going toe-to-toe with some of the top clubs in the region. CanPL.ca will be covering the tournament extensively, with in-depth guides on the CPL teams and their opponents, plus more on the whole tournament. For more of CanPL.ca’s coverage of the Concacaf Champions Cup, click here.
Club Universidad Nacional
Location (league): Mexico City, Mexico (Liga MX)
Date founded: 1954
Appearances in CCC: 11
Best finish: Champions (1980, 1982, 1989)
First opponent: Cavalry FC
History & Overview
Considered one of Mexico’s Big Four clubs (along with América, Chivas and Cruz Azul), Pumas are one of Liga MX’s best-supported clubs. Originally founded in the 1950s as an amateur side for students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, they have blossomed into one of the continent’s most popular teams.
They’re back in the Champions Cup for the first time since they went all the way to the final of the 2022 tournament. Three-time champions of Concacaf, Pumas are keen to add a fourth title to their trophy cabinet as they haven’t won one on the continental stage since 1989.
Domestically, Pumas have been Mexican champions seven times, but their most recent title was in 2011, and they haven’t been to a Liga MX final since 2020.
Still, this is an experienced side with pedigree and big names.
Pumas play at the 69,000-seat Estadio Olimpico Universitario just south of the Mexico City core, which once hosted the 1968 Olympic Games, as well as four matches at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

How they qualified
Pumas finished fifth in the Liga MX aggregate table for the 2023 Apertura and 2024 Clausura seasons, which earned them a spot this year. Because Club América won the title in both seasons, spots also went to both runners-up and then the next three highest-ranked sides in the aggregate table — in this case, Pumas.
The coach
Pumas are led by manager Gustavo Lema, a 56-year-old native of Argentina who has been in charge since the beginning of 2024. This is his first head coaching gig, although Lema has been in the coaching world for about 20 years now, having been an assistant at Buenos Aires-based side Huracán in 2005.
Lema was, for most of his coaching career, a protégé of fellow Argentine Antonio Mohamed, whom he worked with at 10 different clubs, including multiple stints at Huracán and Monterrey, as well as time with Club América and Spanish La Liga side Celtá Vigo. While working under Mohamed, Lema won three Liga MX titles, as well as a Copa Sudamericana with Independiente.
In late 2023, Mohamed left Pumas somewhat abruptly, and this time Lema remained, taking over as head coach for the first time. Since Lema’s ascension, he has a 20-11-14 record in all competitions, and has helped transform Pumas into one of the best defensive teams in Mexico — they conceded just 13 goals in 17 games in the 2024 Apertura, the second-fewest in the league.
RELATED: 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Guide: Who’s playing, how does it work and where can I watch?
3 Key Players
Nathan Silva:
The 27-year-old Brazilian defender is an anchor at the back for Pumas, forming the base of the club’s usual back three. He led the team in minutes during the most recent Apertura campaign, playing every minute in all but one game. He’s been in Mexico City since the summer of 2023, when he arrived from Brazilian top flight side Atlético Mineiro, winning a title there in 2021.
Silva has been a key part of Pumas’ defence in recent campaigns, and was a large part of the reason for how well they managed to keep the ball out of their net in 2024 specifically.
Piero Quispe:
Hailing from Lima, Peru, Quispe arrived at Pumas before the 2024 Clausura season, and almost immediately found his way into the starting lineup at the age of just 22. Now 23, he’s an indispensable piece in the middle of the park for his Liga MX club.
Quispe is a versatile midfielder who can thrive with a variety of assignments, whether that’s a more defensive or attack-minded role. He’s one of the club’s most creative players, and can help transition the ball from the middle into the attacking third.
Guillermo Martínez:
Typically the main centrepoint of the attack, the Mexican forward was Pumas’ leading scorer with six goals in the Apertura season. Martínez is an imposing striker, standing at 6-3. He’s a serious threat in the air and can get his head on pretty much anything sent into the box, plus he’s a good finisher with his left foot.
Martínez has become increasingly important to the Mexican national team as well after making his debut in 2023. Any opponent in the Champions Cup will need to try and prevent Pumas from finding him in the box.

Recent form
As mentioned above, Pumas have been held without a league title for well over a decade now, but they’re typically in the mix. They’ve qualified for the Liguilla playoff phase in each of the last three campaigns, including Apertura 2024, when they finished fourth in the regular season but lost a hard-fought clash with Monterrey in the quarter-finals.
By several metrics, Pumas were the best defensive team in Liga MX in 2024, allowing a league-best 15.7 expected goals and securing the second-most clean sheets with nine. They struggled at the other end of the pitch a little, struggling to finish chances — despite 29.5 expected goals, sixth-most in the league, they only scored 21, which put them 10th in Liga MX.
There’s been some change in personnel recently though; last season’s star winger César Huerta was sold to Belgian club Anderlecht in early January. Another key piece of the attack, Leo Suárez, has been out since late August with a torn knee ligament.
The good news, however, is that Pumas have brought in Adalberto ‘Coco’ Carrasquilla in this transfer window from the Houston Dynamo. The dynamic Panamanian midfielder should provide a serious boost to the middle of the park for Pumas; he’s been on an absolute tear form-wise in recent memory, especially for his national team; he was recently named the 2024 Concacaf Player of the Year, largely for his contributions to the Panamanian side.
Tournament outlook
As is the case with any Liga MX team in this tournament, Pumas have designs on winning the whole thing. They’ve been in the final in recent memory, and although they haven’t been champions of Concacaf since the 1980s, they have pedigree at this level.
Their path to a deep run in the competition is deeper than most; they know that if they can get past Cavalry, they get a round of 16 tie with Alajuelense. Their last experience with Costa Rican opposition was that 2022 run to the final, where they beat Saprissa 6-3 on aggregate in the round of 16.
After that, the most likely quarter-final opponent is Monterrey — the Mexican foe who knocked Pumas out of the most recent Apertura playoffs, which means Pumas would be well motivated for some revenge.
It won’t be easy, and recent turnover in the squad means Pumas might have some growing pains in early 2025, but they’ve got the confidence for a deep run on the continental stage.
First round schedule
Leg 1: Thursday, Feb. 6
Cavalry FC vs. Pumas UNAM — Starlight Stadium, Langford, B.C.
10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT
Leg 2: Thursday, Feb. 13
Pumas UNAM vs. Cavalry FC — Estadio Olimpico Universitario, Mexico City, Mexico
8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT